Effect of tillage and residue retention on maize productivity

In Bangladesh, maize is generally sown after extensive tilth and minimum residue retention. Conservation agriculture (CA) systems reduce the input costs, machinery use, CO2 emissions; and improve soil health (Raper et al., 1994). Crop residues are known to affect soil physical properties (Hulugalle et al., 1986), availability of nutrients (Wade and Sanchez, 1983; Asghar et al., 2006) and soil biological activity (Tian et al., 1993). Crop residue retention has been suggested to improve overall soil fertility and to support sustainable crop production. Crop residue retention under no tillage system reduce soil erosion, increase soil organic matter (SOM), and reduce requirement of labour and fuel under cereal grain and row crop culture (Salinas-Garcia et al., 1997). Kumar and Goh (2000) reported that incorporation of crop residues is essential for sustaining soil productivity through replenishing SOM that not only a key indicator of soil quality, but it also supplies essential nutrients upon mineralization (N, P, and S) and improves soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (Kumar et al., 2001). In our country, the crop residue is used mostly for cattle feed (Saadullah et al., 1991), fuel for stove and some cases burning. It is essential to estimate the amount of crop residue that should be retained in field to get the benefits. Therefore, the present research investigated to find out the minimum tillage with residue retention could be an effective element for maize production

Geographic variation and factors associated with female genital mutilation among reproductive age women in Ethiopia: A national population based survey

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a common traditional practice in developing nations including Ethiopia. It poses complex and serious long-term health risks for women and girls and can lead to death. In Ethiopia, the geographic distribution and factors associated with FGM practices are poorly understood. Therefore, we assessed the spatial distribution and factors associated with FGM among reproductive age women in the country. Method: We used population based national representative surveys. Data from two (2000 and 2005) Ethiopian demographic and health surveys (EDHS) were used in this analysis. Briefly, EDHS used a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling design. A total of 15,367 (from EDHS 2000) and 14,070 (from EDHS 2005) women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were included in the analysis. Three outcome variables were used (prevalence of FGM among women, prevalence of FGM among daughters and support for the continuation of FGM). The data were weighted and descriptive statistics (percentage change), bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out. Multicollinearity of variables was assessed using variance inflation factors (VIF) with a reference value of 10 before interpreting the final output. The geographic variation and clustering of weighted FGM prevalence were analyzed and visualized on maps using ArcGIS. Z-scores were used to assess the statistical difference of geographic clustering of FGM prevalence spots. Result: The trend of FGM weighted prevalence has been decreasing. Being wealthy, Muslim and in higher age categories are associated with increased odds of FGM among women. Similarly, daughters from Muslim women have increased odds of experiencing FGM. Women in the higher age categories have increased odds of having daughters who experience FGM. The odds of FGM among daughters decrease with increased maternal education. Mass media exposure, being wealthy and higher paternal and maternal education are associated with decreased odds of women's support of FGM continuation. FGM prevalence and geographic clustering showed variation across regions in Ethiopia. Conclusion: Individual, economic, socio-demographic, religious and cultural factors played major roles in the existing practice and continuation of FGM. The significant geographic clustering of FGM was observed across regions in Ethiopia. Therefore, targeted and integrated interventions involving religious leaders in high FGM prevalence spot clusters and addressing the socio-economic and geographic inequalities are recommended to eliminate FGM. © 2016 Setegn et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Prevalence of female genital mutilation and its effect on women’s health in Bale zone, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Females’ genital mutilation (FGM) is one of the harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and children. It has a long-term physiological, sexual and psychological effect on women. It remains still a serious problem for large proportion of women in most sub-Saharan Africa countries including Ethiopia. METHODS: A community based cross sectional study design which is supplemented by qualitative method was conducted in 2014. A total of 634 reproductive age women were involved in the quantitative part of the study. The respondents were drawn from five randomly selected districts of Bale zone. The total sample was allocated proportionally to each district based on the number of reproductive age women it has. Purposive sampling method was used for qualitative study. Then, data were collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS for windows version 16.0. Multiple logistic regressions were carried out to examine the existence of relationship between FGM and selected determinant factors. Variables significant in the bivariate analysis were then entered into a multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In this study, 486 (78.5%) of women had undergone some form of FGM with 75% lower and 82% upper confidence interval. To get married, to get social acceptance, to safeguard virginity, to suppress sexual desire and religious recommendations were the main reasons of FGM. The reported immediate complications were excessive bleeding at the time of the procedure, infection, urine retention and swelling of genital organ. Muslim women and women from rural areas were significantly more likely to have undergone the procedure. In addition to these, compared to women 15–20 years old older women were more likely to report themselves having undergone FGM. CONCLUSIONS: Although younger women, those from urban residence and some religions are less likely to have had FGM it is still extremely common in this zone. Deep cultural issues and strongly personally held beliefs which are not simple to predict or quantify are likely to be involved in the perpetuation of FGM. Efforts to eradicate the practice should incorporate a human rights approach rather than rely solely on the damaging health consequences

Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, ventilation management, and outcomes in invasively ventilated intensive care unit patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pooled analysis of four observational studies

Background: Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, the practice of ventilation, and outcome in invasively ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unexplored. In this analysis we aim to address these gaps using individual patient data of four large observational studies. Methods: In this pooled analysis we harmonised individual patient data from the ERICC, LUNG SAFE, PRoVENT, and PRoVENT-iMiC prospective observational studies, which were conducted from June, 2011, to December, 2018, in 534 ICUs in 54 countries. We used the 2016 World Bank classification to define two geoeconomic regions: middle-income countries (MICs) and high-income countries (HICs). ARDS was defined according to the Berlin criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patients in MICs versus HICs. The primary outcome was the use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were key ventilation parameters (tidal volume size, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, peak pressure, plateau pressure, driving pressure, and respiratory rate), patient characteristics, the risk for and actual development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after the first day of ventilation, duration of ventilation, ICU length of stay, and ICU mortality. Findings: Of the 7608 patients included in the original studies, this analysis included 3852 patients without ARDS, of whom 2345 were from MICs and 1507 were from HICs. Patients in MICs were younger, shorter and with a slightly lower body-mass index, more often had diabetes and active cancer, but less often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure than patients from HICs. Sequential organ failure assessment scores were similar in MICs and HICs. Use of LTVV in MICs and HICs was comparable (42\ub74% vs 44\ub72%; absolute difference \u20131\ub769 [\u20139\ub758 to 6\ub711] p=0\ub767; data available in 3174 [82%] of 3852 patients). The median applied positive end expiratory pressure was lower in MICs than in HICs (5 [IQR 5\u20138] vs 6 [5\u20138] cm H2O; p=0\ub70011). ICU mortality was higher in MICs than in HICs (30\ub75% vs 19\ub79%; p=0\ub70004; adjusted effect 16\ub741% [95% CI 9\ub752\u201323\ub752]; p<0\ub70001) and was inversely associated with gross domestic product (adjusted odds ratio for a US$10 000 increase per capita 0\ub780 [95% CI 0\ub775\u20130\ub786]; p<0\ub70001). Interpretation: Despite similar disease severity and ventilation management, ICU mortality in patients without ARDS is higher in MICs than in HICs, with a strong association with country-level economic status. Funding: No funding

Characterizing Electric Vehicle Plug-in Behaviors Using Customer Classification Approach

This paper proposes a customer classification approach to analyze the plug-in behavior of Electric Vehicle (EV) users for developing sustainable and efficient charging infrastructure. The features influencing EV adoption are selected from available EV models in Australia using a feature importance technique. The selected influential features are employed to classify EV customers using a k-means clustering algorithm into different clusters. Each cluster's energy demand and plug-in behavior are assessed considering EV uncertainties. The results exhibit the efficacy of the customer-segmentation approach for managing and deploying charging infrastructures for large-scale EV penetration. This study underscores the significance of EV users' plug-in behaviors and characteristics toward transport electrification for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050

Determinants of Infant and Child Mortality in Bangladesh: Time Trends and Comparisons across South Asia

In spite of various effective intervention programs, the under-5 child mortality rate (U5MR) is still high in Bangladesh. The present paper focused on the levels, trends and determinants of U5MR in Bangladesh utilizing data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), 2007. Differential pattern in U5MR in Bangladesh was examined using life table technique as a bi-variate analysis and Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the determinants of U5MR mortality. Data from BDHS (2007) showed that U5MR during the five years preceding the survey was 65 per 1,000 live births, i.e. one in fifteen children born in Bangladesh died before reaching the fifth birthday. The risk of dying in the first month of life (37 per 1,000) was nearly two and a half times greater than in the subsequent 11 months (15 per 1,000). Deaths in the neonatal period accounted for 57 percent of all under-five deaths. In the Cox proportional hazard model analysis, factors such as the place of residence, parent’s education, father’s working status, sources of drinking water, type of toilet facility, wealth status, watching of television, mother’s age, months of breastfeeding, birth interval had significant influence on infant and child mortality. The most significant predictors of neonatal, post-neonatal, infant and child mortality were residence, parent’s education, type of toilet facility, wealth status, watching TV, months of breastfeeding, and birth interval. Despite the improvement of medical technology, child mortality remained alarmingly high, indicating that demographic, socioeconomic, household and environmental conditions must be improved to substantially reduce child mortality in this population. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v13i4.20590 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.13(4) 2014 p.431-437</jats:p

Ultrastructural changes in HeLa cells associated with enteroadherent Escherichia coli isolated from infants with diarrhoea in Calcutta

In the present study, we compared two enteroadherent Escherichia coli (EAEC) not belonging to the classical enteropathogenic O serotypes with respect to their attachment to and invasion of HeLa cells. Depending on the pattern of adherence to HeLa cells, one of the strains showed localized adherence (LA), and the other showed diffuse adherence (DA). Electronmicroscopic study showed that LA-EAEC produced the intimate attaching and effacing lesions and intracellular penetration in cultured HeLa cells. In contrast, DA-EAEC exhibited fimbrially-mediated adhesion to HeLa cells. Both LA and DA possessed morphologically distinct fimbriae. LA-EAEC expressed rod-like fimbriae, whereas fibrillar fimbriae were observed in DA strain. Ultrastructural study showed that the mechanisms of invasion by both the strains were different. LA-EAEC strains invaded the cells after pedestal formation and were enclosed in membrane-bound vacuoles. In contrast, DA-EAEC showed no membrane dissolution and pedestal formation during internalization of HeLa cells. A carefully controlled study will be necessary to establish the pathogenic role of DA-EAEC in diarrhoea